Panel – Waiting for the Light: Portland’s Sex Trafficking Crisis

Liz AlstonElizabeth Alston has been active within the anti-sex trafficking movement for the past 8 years in various capacities including building awareness, providing direct intervention services to victims of trafficking, and maintaining and introducing new systems for the State of Oregon Department of Human Services on this matter. Currently, Ms. Alston serves as the CSEC Coordinator for the DHS Child Welfare, implementing required and ongoing training, providing technical support on cases, analyzing policies and procedures related to trafficking, and ensuring that Oregon is in full compliance with federal legislation. Alston served as a subject matter expert on prevention education for youth at Warner Pacific University, and worked with those helping to reform state policy to protect victims affected by sex trafficking. Ms. Alston has become a national speaker, trainer, and change agent on sex trafficking, and works with a wide group of stakeholders in addressing this issue. Alston also serves on the statewide Trafficking Intervention task force for the Department of Justice. When she is not working, Alston is pursuing her PhD in Leadership at Johnson University, and enjoys running with her dog, exploring the scenic outdoors, and time with friends and family.

Joel ShapiroJoel Shapiro is an attorney, victims’ advocate, and policy advisor in Portland, OR. He has extensive sex trafficking policy experience, including serving as Chief Counsel to U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, where he crafted the first federal legislation focused on child sex trafficking, as a policy advisor to Multnomah County Commissioner Diane McKeel, and as the lobbyist for the “Kids Are Not For Sale in Oregon Coalition.” Joel currently serves on the Oregon Attorney General’s Trafficking Intervention Advisory Committee, and represents victims of sex trafficking in civil litigation, including cases against Stars Cabaret strip club, and the website Backpage.com.

JR UjifusaJR Ujifusa has been working on human trafficking crimes and issues for the last 9 years and is also a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the district of Oregon focusing on federal human trafficking crimes. He is the Senior deputy and supervisor of the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Drug unit and Human Trafficking Team which oversees the Prostitution Coordination Team, the Sex Buyers Accountability and Diversion Program, First Offender Program, Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Law Enforcement group, National Sex Trafficking Law Enforcement List Serve, and is the primary prosecutor for all felony prostitution and human trafficking cases within Multnomah County. JR has trained, presented and has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional human trafficking conferences and trainings. He has been a Deputy District Attorney since 2005 and has also prosecuted drug crimes, felony property crimes, violent crimes, sexual assaults, domestic violence related crimes, gang related crimes and homicides.

Officer Natasha HaunspergerNatasha Haunsperger has been a Portland Police Officer for twelve years and is currently assigned to the Office of Community Engagement with the Chief’s office. In her current position, Officer Haunsperger has been working on addressing complex criminal justice related issues with immigrant and refugee communities in the Portland Metro area. In her previous assignment at the Criminal Intelligence Unit, Officer Haunsperger focused on both intelligence and criminal investigations involving foreign-born labour trafficking subjects in the state of Oregon. Officer Haunsperger also co-produced a documentary film on the topic of foreign-born labour trafficking “Reclaiming Their Lives” and is actively working on raising public awareness about trafficking trends in the Pacific NW.

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The Junior League of Portland is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.